15.6 4k lcd panel hdr 10bit factory

Whether you are creating, editing, or checking your work, this screen offers ample space to focus on 4K content. At a dense 149 ppi, it’s suited for not only video editing but also photo retouching and printing.

The ColorEdge CG319X is equipped with HLG (hybrid log-gamma) and the PQ (perceptual quantization) curve for displaying and editing HDR (high dynamic range) video content. The optimized gamma curves render images to appear more true to how the human eye perceives the real world compared to SDR (standard dynamic range). This ensures professional creators can reliably display HDR content for editing and color grading.

In compliance with the DCI standard, the ColorEdge CG319X offers a high contrast ratio of 1500:1* for producing true blacks that are otherwise difficult to display on a typical LCD monitor. When viewing the screen from an angle in a dimly lit room, dark tones typically appear washed out due to the display characteristics of LCD backlights. The CG Series is equipped with a retardation film which allows tones to retain their depth even when viewed from an angle.

An aspect marker designates the areas of the screen size that will be shown on a display device when you input DCI 4K (4096 x 2160) or DCI 2K (2048 x 1080). This allows you to confirm how the screen size and composition of  the scene will appear in other viewing environments. Aspect ratios 1.85:1, 2.35:1, and 2.39:1 can be selected.

Enlarge areas of the screen to confirm small details and check focus accuracy in photos using the 4K zoom function. It is quickly and easily accessible using the monitor’s front buttons.

LCD monitors commonly exhibit fluctuations in brightness and chromaticity across the screen, affecting color accuracy. To counter this, ColorEdge monitors are equipped with EIZO"s patented digital uniformity equalizer (DUE) technology which corrects deviations in every tone across the screen to ensure stable display.

The monitor is equipped with an IPS non-glare panel for high visibility. It also uses dimming technology to minimize flicker and help prevent eye fatigue for a more comfortable working environment.

The 178° wide viewing angles afforded by the IPS panel technology allow two or more people to view the screen at once with little change in color or contrast.

The ColorEdge CG319X is equipped with two DisplayPort and two HDMI inputs. The monitor"s HDMI and DisplayPort inputs support DCI 4K at 60p. HDMI input supports 12-bit 4:2:2 at 50/60p and DisplayPort input supports up to 10-bit 4:4:4 at 50/60p.

EIZO"s UniColor Pro software simulates color blindness when used with select EIZO LCD monitors. It allows designers to see how their printed materials, signs, web contents, videos, etc. will appear to those with color blindness.

UPERFECT 4K monitor takes the FreeSync and HDR technology, provide amazing 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) picture quality, and clear, smooth and excellent performance. It"s enjoyable while watching movie, playing games with the 4K monitor. Perfect for photographers and designers.Buy Now

The best 4K monitors are now almost essential tools for visual design work. In fact, for those working with video, 4K is almost becoming a minimum now that 8K video is emerging. 4K, also known as Ultra HD (UHD), refers to a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. That"s four times as many pixels as full HD (FHD), and that increased pixel density makes for a much cleaner, sharper image with more detail and texture on any screen from 27 inches and above.

The good news is that the best 4K monitors are a lot more affordable than they were a few years ago. Because UHD has now become more standard, both for media consumption as well as professional use, there are a lot more options on the market today. The flip side of this is that it"s now perhaps harder than ever to work out which is the best 4K monitor for your needs.

To help with that, we"ve made our own pick of the best 4K monitors based on our own reviews, recommendations from working creatives and a full comparison of their specs. We"ve weighed up the pros and cons of each screen and evaluated them for build and ergonomics image quality, features, colour support and accuracy, brightness and connectivity (learn more about how we test and review at Creative Bloq).

We"ve also considered value for money in order to recommend options for different needs and budgets. The best 4K monitors in terms of image quality are still very expensive – demanding professionals with a big enough budget will want to go for the Asus ProArt PA32UC-K or Eizo ColorEdge CG319X, but we haven"t placed these at the very top of our list because their price makes them simply unaffordable for many people. When factoring in value, cheaper 4K monitors like the Dell S3221QS and Samsung U28E590D end up ranking higher since we think they meet most people"s needs and an accessible price.

If you"re looking for the best 4K monitor specifically for video work, see our pick of the best monitors for video editing. And while some of the screens below can support daisy chaining for a dual monitor setup, you might also want to consider one of the best ultrawide monitors if you want more space to work with.

Pro features for under a grand put this at the top of our list of the best 4K monitors. Following in a long tradition of fine displays from Dell, the UltraSharp U3219Q offers full sRGB covering, 95 per cent DCI-P3 and exceptional colour uniformity, making it ideal for all types of creative, including those working in photo and video.

Dell takes second place on our pick of the best 4K monitors too, but this time with a much more affordable display. So OK, perhaps it"s not exactly cheap, but it"s a lot more affordable than most good 4K monitors. It looks stunning too. Dell monitors aren"t known exactly known for their sleek looks, but the curved S3221QS is a lot more elegant than its name, standing out from all those black and grey business monitors with its white back and base.

Professional 4K monitors can be massively expensive (just see the stunning Eizo ColorEdge CG319X and the Asus ProArt PA32UC-K below), but there are now some fantastic UHD screens that strike a great balance between specs and price. Our favourite, certainly for photography, is the BenQ SW321C PhotoVue. When we reviewed it, we found it to be the perfect (reasonably) affordable 32in 4K monitor for photo editing for performance and usability.

The Eizo ColourEdge CG319X is the connoisseur’s choice in high-quality displays. Eizo displays are a very familiar sight in professional video and photography studios – and this 31-inch 4K monitor, with a 10-bit display and 24-bit colour look-up table, is a stunner. The CG319X also boasts one feature that sets it apart from competing high-end 4K screens: 4096 x 2160 resolution rather than 3840 x 2160. This reflects the slightly taller 4K standard used in digital video production.

For a more compact 4K monitor, this 28-inch Samsung 4K display follows very closely on the heels of the Dell 4K S3221QS at number 2 on our list of the best 4K monitors above in terms of value. It lacks pro features but there"s still 100 per cent support for the sRGB colour space, a high 300cd/square metre brightness level and support for 60Hz 4K.

The MateView is firmly pitched at working creatives. Its IPS panel is capable of displaying 100 per cent of the sRGB colour gamut, and 98 per cent of the DCI-P3 video colour space. It also has a maximum brightness level of 500 nits, and a 1200:1 contrast ratio. The sleek, slim-bezel design is a nice addition too, and we found the touch-sensitive smart bar to be an ergonomic way to control the monitor. It"s available at a tempting price (although there are some stock issues in the US), and we reckon it"s a solid choice of monitor for creatives.

Compared with some of the pricey high-end colour-accurate Eizo and Asus screens above, the Philips Brilliance 328P (another really catchy name, right?) is an excellent alternative, as it’s great value for money while still offering solid visuals. It’s a 31.5-inch IPS panel with measured 99 per cent sRGB and 73 per cent AdobeRGB coverage, a thin-bezel design and a few extras such as a pop-up webcam that works when the built-in USB hub is connected.

Photographers and videographers who need high resolution may also want to consider this more compact LG option, which offers a 98% DCI-P3 colour gamut, great colour accuracy and typical brightness of 540 nits. The stand is height-and-tilt adjustable so you can find the right position for you, and the Thunderbolt 3 port supports 4K Daisy Chain so you can set this up with another monitor.

Viewsonic has a few colour accurate displays on the market, and the VP2785-4K is the most high-end model in its catalogue. It"s a 27-inch 4K IPS screen, sporting 100 per cent sRGB and quoted 99 per cent AdobeRGB coverage. It’s a bit fiddly to put together, requiring a screwdriver to attach the panel to the stand, but the overall design is extremely svelte, with a thin and light build, near edge-to-edge screen, and only a small bezel at the bottom that accommodates touch-sensitive controls.

With a 14-bit LUT, 700:1 contrast ratio and 375-nit brightness, the picture quality of the VP2785-4K won’t disappoint, although it doesn’t quite deliver the same eye-popping colours of the most high-end 4K displays money can buy.What is a 4K monitor?4K, also known as ultra-high definition or UHD, is a measure of a screen"s resolution. 4K monitors have a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels, which compares to a resolution of 1290 x 1080 for full high definition (FHD). This means that it"s almost four times FHD resolution. What that means in practice is that images look sharper and tighter, which is great for viewing HD video and higher quality video game graphics.Do I need a 4K monitor?There are a couple of main reasons that you might benefit from a 4K monitor. Firstly, for your own enjoyment. Even if you"ll be using your screen purely for entertainment purposes rather than for work, 4K offers a notably sharper picture, which can enhance the enjoyment of watching films, series and playing games. That said, when it comes to PC gaming, 4K UHD resolution is very demanding and many will find that the improvement in image quality isn"t worth the drop in performance.

The other reason you might want one of the best 4K monitors is for work. If you work in any visual creative area, a 4K screen can improve your experience by allowing you to see your work in more definition. If you work in video, you"ll almost certainly need at least a 4K monitor since 4K video has almost become the norm. If you"re producing 4K video for a client, then you really need to be able to view it in 4K while you work.Is a 4K monitor worth it?Today, for most professionals it"s almost certainly worth investing one of the best 4K monitors. They"re still more expensive than 1080p displays, but they have come down in price a lot as they become standard, and they"re now so much more affordable than they were that it"s no longer such a big decision.

While 4K doesn"t make a lot of sense for a small monitor, from 27-inches and up, it makes a huge difference from FHD that will be immediately apparent to anyone. Gary Heiting, an optometrist and senior editor of the website AllAboutVision, even says that the increased screen resolution can reduce the risk of eye strain, so working in 4K over long sessions can be more comfortable even if you don"t need to produce 4K video.Is my computer compatible with a 4K monitor?You might hope that buying one of the best 4K monitors will automatically improve your viewing experience, but it"s important to know that not every laptop or PC can support 4K. Most recent PCs or Macs should have no problem displaying 4K resolution, but it"s a good idea to check your screen"s recommended display resolution before you buy a new screen. We have a guide to screen resolution that may help.

To check your device, Right-click your desktop and select “Screen Resolution”. Under display settings, you"ll find a range of screen recommendations. If 3840×2160 is listed, you can be confident that your computer will indeed support a 4K monitor. If not, then you"ll need to upgrade your computer as well as your monitor if you want to enjoy 4K video rendering.

There"s also the issue of ports. You’ll need to make sure your PC has either an HDMI 2.0 port or DisplayPort 1.4 port that can support 4K since earlier versions of these ports do not. Your CPU And GPU also have an impact on your device"s ability to run 4K, because 4K is more demanding.

If your device uses Intel integrated graphics, you"ll want to have at least a 4th generation (Haswell) processor core processor. If you have Ivy Bridge or earlier, you"ll need to have a recent graphics card installed (if you"re unsure, you can check your processor at ark.intel.com to find out what the motherboard or integrated CPU graphics is capable of.How do I choose the best 4K monitor?You can now go 4K without spending a fortune, but the best 4K monitors can still be very expensive if you want pro-level calibration and the best colour accuracy. If you"re going to be using your screen for any kind of colour work, then you want precise colour accuracy. Most entry-level 4K monitors actually do a fairly decent job, but the best 4K monitors for designers will have full coverage of the AdobeRGB or DCI-P3 colour space.

After colour, size is obviously another major factor in choosing the best 4K monitor for you. The most popular choice is usually 27-inches but 32-inch screens are becoming more common. If you"re looking for a display specifically for image editing then make sure you see our roundup of the best monitors for photo editing for more options.

You"ll also want to check what ports a monitor has before you buy it. The two cheapest options in our list of the best 4K monitors don"t have a USB-C connection, something that many creatives will want for hooking up devices quickly and easily. Most monitors have DisplayPort and HDMI ports, but this can"t be taken as given either – the LG Ultrafine 24MD4KL is well kitted out with USB-C and the faster Thunderbolt 3 ports, but skips the older ports.

Product OverviewThe ViewSonic® ColorPro™ VP2786-4K is a 27” professional monitor that delivers outstanding visual performance and amazing color accuracy. With 3840 x 2160 Ultra HD resolution, true 10-bit color, and color coverage of 100% Adobe RGB and 98% DCI-P3, the VP2786-4K showcases your work with incredible color performance. An integrated ColorPro Wheel provides easy and accurate color calibration for precise performance, while certifications from Fogra and G7 ensure high quality print performance. USB-C connectivity helps to simplify your workspace by delivering audio, video, data and up to 90W of power delivery over a single universal cable. To ensure precise, uniform color, each of our monitors is factory calibrated to deliver an amazing Delta E<2 value. With amazing design and technology, and an intuitive user-friendly interface, the VP2786-4K delivers everything professional content creators demand in a monitor.

You may also find it helpful to read these two other posts: How to use an OLED in Post Production and a detailed round up of 4K Video Editing Monitors.

These OLED TVs deliver a large screen, ranging from 55″–83″, with perfect blacks, a wide colour gamut and capable of displaying both SDR and HDR content. And best of all they come with a consumer price tag.

Often colorists may also have a smaller, more expensive and more accurate display in front of their control panel as their main point of reference, but if both displays don’t line up together exactly you can get into the troublesome situation of the client asking “Which one should I be looking at?” i.e. what can I trust?

If you can afford it, the consensus seems to be that a Flanders Scientific is the more affordable of the high-end. While their flagship 3000nit 10bit 4K HDR monitor, the XM310K will set you back $25,000

The Flanders Scientific DM170 drops down to a bargain price of $3,495 for a 17″ 1920 x 1080 10bit LCD display. For comparison the cheapest FSI monitor is the 2021 AM211, a 21.5″ HD 8bit monitor for $1,995.

Display Resolution – You want to be able to monitor the kind of footage you regularly work with at it’s full resolution. If you’re often working with 4K footage then you’ll want a 4K monitor. If you’re only ever delivering HD then a 1920 x 1080 monitor will do just fine. (See my 2018 update below for more on this!)

Contrast Ratio – This will probably make the biggest difference to your perception of the images on display. Glossy displays tend to have a higher contrast ratio than matte displays. According to chapter 2 of Alexis Van Hurkman’s Color Correction Handbook 2nd Ed. (paraphrasing here) for an LCD display 1400:1 (glossy) or 1100:1 (matte) or better, is a good ball park. For OLED 5000:1 is a good ball park.

Black Levels – Having deep blacks is what colorists are always looking for, not muddy grey ones. Deep gorgeous blacks with plenty of detail still in them. Partly this impacts on your perceived contrast and partly it’s a sign of a good display panel. OLED panels beat LCD in this and the contrast department.

Brightness – SDR (Standard Definition) is mastered to a 100 nit brightness range. HDR is usually mastered to 1000 or 4000 nits. True HDR reference monitors are incredibly expensive. My focus in this post is on SDR use-cases.

It’s worth noting that very few displays these days offer the 4096 x 2160 true 4K resolution, but the price bump to monitors that do, doesn’t seem to be worth it.

In 2016 I bought the LG 31″ 4K 10bit monitor (LG 31MU97-Z)and have LOVED using it every day since then. I can’t even begin to calculate how many hours I have stared at this screen!

“You have pure 8bit, you have 8bit+FRC. Now there’s different types of FRC; there’s high speed switching between the bit value over and under and this can happen both in a spatial and a temporal state. So it allows you to, through this rapid switching, get a perceived higher bit depth than the panel may actually have.

The ASUS ProArt series has an impressive spec, with the higher end, mini-LED HDR models having an equally impressive price tag. When it comes to finding a more affordable option in the range, it appears that the Pro Art PA329C (2019) is currently the best bet.

Importantly, the PA329C supports hardware calibration, a14-bit LUT and the ability to store custom colour profiles on the monitor. It comes with a VESA DisplayHDR 600 certificate.

For context the 2020 Dell Ultrasharp UP3221Q, a 4K UHD display with a true 10 bit, mini-LED backlit panel delivering 1000 nits of HDR ready peak brightness costs close to $4,000/£3,600.

To be clear there is the UP2720Q (2019)which has a 10bit panel and 250 nits of brightness and greater colour accuracy is about $1,600 and then there is the U2720Q (2020) which has a 8bit+FRC panel with 450 nits of peak brightness and a very slightly lower colour accuracy which is about $700. You can compare their specifications here.

For our purposes EIZO don’t make an ‘affordable’ 32″ model with the CG319X coming in at close to $6k, while the latest Eizo ColorEdge Prominence CG3146 HDR reference monitor will set you back over $30k.

From my research there are two that seemed the most promising. The 2021 Z27xs G3 4K DreamColor and the 2017 DreamColor Z31x Studio, both of which can be calibrated with an external probe.

Expensive if you can still find it at about $2500 this is a true 4K 4098 x 2160, 10 bit monitor. Whether it’s still worth the money today, given other ways to spend that kind of money, is highly questionable!

I’m writing this on my (now discontinued) LG 31MU97B 10bit 4K (4096 x 2160) monitor, which I have loved using for the past few years. From my experience, LG monitors and OLED TVs are superb.

I wanted to include them here as a potential nod to the future and it will be interesting to see how they compare to other similarly priced mini-LED monitors designed for professional HDR use. (See next section below)

For the money the 32BN67U-B looks like a great deal. It doesn’t have the fancy stand of the 32UN880-B or the ability to connect USB peripherals, but it does have a 32″ display, true 10bit panel and a UHD 3840 x 2160 resolution.

At this price point the ASUS Pro Art PA279C (2020) – Approx $500/500 and the Z27xs G3 4K DreamColor (2021) – Approx $700/£600 are also considerations but they both have 8 bit+FRC panels and a much smaller 27″ display.

When it comes to stepping up to an ‘affordable’ and reliable HDR monitor, right now you’re still looking at several thousand pounds/dollars. The technology is rapidly improving and the prices slowly falling but we’re not there yet.

In these two videos colorist Kevin Shaw gives his first impressions of the ASUS PA27UCX-K and the Dell UltraSharp UP3221Q. One thing to take into consideration with an HDR monitor is just how much power they consume!

With mastering of HDR movies sitting at around 1000 or 4000 nits, consumer OLEDs can’t match this getting to only 650-700 nits in their brightest areas. Whilst also being hampered by ABL (automatic brightness limiting – to protect the panel) bringing their full-screen brightness to around 100-150 nits.

Examples of IO boxes would be the Blackmagic Design UltraStudio Monitor 3G (approx $115 – HD video – full tech specs) and the older more expensive, AJA T-Tap (approx $295 – HD video – full tech specs). If you want 4K i/o you’ll need to jump up to the more comprehensive BMD UltraStudio 4K Mini.

You would need to take a Rec. 709 10bit video file, edit it in your video editing software maintaining that bit depth and colour space, output that video signal to your external monitor in 10bit and in Rec.709 and view it on a monitor with a 10bit panel, calibrated to Rec.709.

The reason to use a dedicated IO box (like the UltraStudio 4K Mini) is that it gives you a properly managed colour pipeline that by-passes the operating system’s GPU and colour profile settings and gets you straight from the video editing software to your monitor without alternation (unless you’ve got some hardware calibration going on too).

That way, if you know you’ve got a 10bit Rec. 709 video file and you’re outputting it via the IO to a 10bit Rec. 709 calibrated monitor you should be good to go.

In this image from the Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Configuration Guide you can see that they recommend connecting the 2013 Mac Pro via Thunderbolt to an I/O box like the 2020 UltraStudio 4K Mini and from there via HDMI 2.0 to the OLED.

Although the Mac Pro has an HDMI port built in, (1.4b UHD) the reason that you need to use something like theUltraStudio 4K Mini ($995/£785) in between, is so that the video signal goes directly from the software to the monitor and by-passes the GPU (and it’s drivers) and the operating system ICC profiles.

The need for an external IO box is especially true when working with HDR material as it requires all the bit-depth and bandwidth you can give it, you can read more about this in the ‘What About HDR?’ section of my Colour Management for Video Editors post.

The X-Rite i1 Display Pro Plus is the most recommended low-cost probe, and some of the HDR monitors above, for example the ASUS ProArt ships with one included. Warren and Stuart discuss working with the X-rite probe and how to ‘hack’ it here. But the safest bet is to buy a Rev.B OEM version from LightIllusion. I would recommend reading this entire thread on LiftGammaGain to discover the ins and outs of that.

The ASUS ProArt PA32UCX-K is aimed at discerning content creators including videographers, cinematographers, and colorists who are seeking the finest display for their workflow. The ASUS ProArt PA32UCX-K is the world"s first 32-inch 4K HDR monitor with peak brightness of 1,200 nits and mini-LED backlighting, enabling 1,152 zones of local dimming control and support for multiple HDR formats, including Dolby Vision™, HLG and HDR-10. The PA32UCX-K"s impressive panel reproduces the brightest whites and the deepest blacks with sharper, more detailed visuals. With true 10-bit color and Quantum Dot technology, support for DCI-P3, Rec. 709, Rec. 2020, and Adobe RGB color spaces, together with a rich selection of connectivity, the PA32UCX-K is primed to take on any studio workflow.

The choice is nice but overwhelming, as there are a lot of products in this market and a lot of features. Buyers looking for computer monitors now have to consider things like HDR, brightness, color accuracy, type of display technology, input lag and more. And then there are the usual considerations like size, adjustability, inputs and so on.

The cheapest monitors are still TN (twisted nematic), which are strictly for gaming or office use. VA (vertical alignment) monitors are also relatively cheap, while offering good brightness and a high contrast ratio. However, content creators will probably want an IPS (in-plane switching) LCD display that delivers better color accuracy, image quality and viewing angles.

If maximum brightness is important, a quantum dot LCD display is the way to go — those are typically found in larger displays. OLED monitors are now available and offer the best blacks and color reproduction, but they lack the brightness of LED or quantum dot displays. Plus, they cost a lot. The latest type of OLED monitor, called QD-OLED from Samsung, just came out this year. The most notable advantage is that it can get a lot brighter, with monitors shown at CES 2022 hitting up to 1,000 nits of peak brightness.

A 4K monitor is nearly a must for content creators, and some folks are even going for 5K or all the way up to 8K. Keep in mind, though, that you’ll need a pretty powerful computer to drive all those pixels. And 4K resolution should be paired with a screen size of 27 inches and up, or you won’t notice much difference between 1440p. At the same time, I wouldn’t get a model larger than 27 inches unless it’s 4K, as you’ll start to see pixelation if you’re working up close to the display.

HDR is the buzzy monitor feature to have these days, as it adds vibrancy to entertainment and gaming – but be careful before jumping in. Some monitors that claim HDR on the marketing materials don’t even conform to a base standard. To be sure that a display at least meets minimum HDR specs, you’ll want to choose one with a DisplayHDR rating with each tier representing maximum brightness in nits.

However, the lowest DisplayHDR 400 and 500 tiers may disappoint you with a lack of brightness, washed out blacks and mediocre color reproduction. If you can afford it, choose a model with DisplayHDR 600, 1000 or True Black 400, True Black 500 and True Black 600. The True Black settings are designed primarily for OLED models, with maximum black levels at .0005 nits.

Where televisions typically offer HDR10 and Dolby Vision or HDR10+, most PC monitors only support the HDR10 standard, other than a few (very expensive) models. That doesn’t matter much for content creation or gaming, but HDR streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other services won’t look quite as punchy. In addition, most models supporting HDR600 (and up) are gaming, rather than content creation monitors – with a few exceptions.

Refresh rate is a key feature, particularly on gaming monitors. A bare minimum nowadays is 60Hz, and 80Hz refresh rates and up are much easier on the eyes. However, most 4K displays top out at 60Hz with some rare exceptions and the HDMI 2.0 spec only supports 4K at 60Hz, so you’d need at least DisplayPort 1.4 (4K at 120Hz) or HDMI 2.1. The latter is now available on a number of monitors, particularly gaming displays. However, it’s only supported on the latest NVIDIA RTX 3000- and 4000-series, AMD RX 6000-series GPUs.

Serious content creators should consider a more costly 10-bit monitor that can display billions of colors. If budget is an issue, you can go for an 8-bit panel that can fake billions of colors via dithering (often spec’d as “8-bit + FRC”). For entertainment or business purposes, a regular 8-bit monitor that can display millions of colors will be fine.

The other aspect of color is the gamut. That expresses the range of colors that can be reproduced and not just the number of colors. Most good monitors these days can cover the sRGB and Rec.709 gamuts (designed for photos and video respectively). For more demanding work, though, you’ll want one that can reproduce more demanding modern gamuts like AdobeRGB, DCI-P3 and Rec.2020 gamuts, which encompass a wider range of colors. The latter two are often used for film projection and HDR, respectively.

Both the Xbox Series X and Sony’s PS5 can handle 4K 120Hz HDR gaming, so if you’re into resolution over pure speed, you’ll want a monitor that can keep up. 4K resolution, HDR and at least 120Hz is the minimum starting point, but fortunately there are 27-inch displays with those specs starting at well under $1,000.

The monitor with the best balance of size, refresh rate and color accuracy is Samsung’s $160 27-inch 1080p T35F. It’s good for business or light gaming and content work, thanks to the IPS panel and 75Hz refresh rate. Plus, it’s fairly attractive and modern looking. There are some things you don’t get at that price, of course – it can only tilt and has an HDMI 1.4 connection.

The $330 28-inch HP U28 4K HDR monitor is a great all around choice, especially for content creators. The 60Hz IPS panel and factory calibration delivers excellent color accuracy and it’s a nice size for creative or business work. It comes with DisplayPort, HDMI and three USB 3.0 ports, along with a USB-C port with 65W of charging for a laptop or tablet. And it’s easy to set just right, thanks to height, swivel and pivot adjustment.

If gaming is more your thing, the $300 Gigabyte G27QC is a top pick. The 27-inch, 1440p curved monitor has an ideal size and resolution for gaming, and it has a quick 165Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. You can connect via HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2 connections and get HDR support – albeit, without DisplayHDR certification.

The $400 BenQ 27-inch 2K QHD HDR model is ideal for creative work, particularly photo editing and graphic design. While resolution is limited to 1440p, it covers 100 percent of the sRGB color gamut with a “Delta E” accuracy value of less than 3 for consistent color performance. You also get height, pivot and swivel adjustment (a full 90 degrees), with HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4 and USB-C daisy chaining and 65W power delivery.

The 32-inch LG 32UN650-W is a great 4K monitor for entertainment, creative chores and gaming. The 31.5-inch, 60Hz IPS panel covers an excellent 95 percent of the DCI-P3 gamut with 10-bit color, but also supports AMD FreeSync for gaming. It also supports HDR, albeit with just 350 nits of maximum brightness. It has HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4 ports, tilt and height adjustments and even built-in speakers.

Sometimes speed rules over size and resolution, and the $500 24.5-inch 1080p ASUS ROG Swift PG256QN is fast. It maxes out at a 360Hz refresh rate (with NVIDIA G-Sync support) and 1ms GtG response time. At the same time, you get 1.07 billion colors with HDR support (up to 400 nits brightness) so you can see your enemies quickly and clearly. Other niceties include a fully adjustable stand, ASUS’s GamePlus Hotkey Enhancements and a large heatsink.

Gigabyte’s M28U 28-inch 144Hz 4K gaming monitor sure does a lot. It has an IPS panel with a 2ms (MPRT) response time, 94 percent DCI-P3 coverage, DisplayHDR 400 certification, 2 HDMI 2.1 ports and FreeSync Premium Pro support. It comes in a little bit more expensive than $500, but we"ve often seen it on sale for $480.

In this price range you can have resolution, color accuracy or brightness, but not all three. The one with the best balance is ViewSonic’s $1,000 ColorPro VP2786 27-inch 4K HDR Monitor. The true 10-bit IPS panel covers 98 percent of the DCI-P3 color palette with an excellent Delta <2 accuracy figure, and is certified for soft-proofing by the demanding Fogra print industry. At the same time, it offers HDR10 support, albeit with a limited 350 nits of output. It even includes a “ColorPro” wheel control compatible with Adobe or Capture One apps.

The best 4K gaming monitor under $1,000 is Dell’s G3223Q 4K 32-inch HDR 144Hz monitor because of the speed, brightness and compatibility. It has an IPS panel with a 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms GtG response time, 95 percent DCI-P3 coverage and DisplayHDR 600 certification. Plus, it comes with a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports and is both FreeSync and G-Sync compatible.

Dell’s P3223QE 4K USB-C Hub monitor is productivity-oriented, thanks to the wired Ethernet connectivity and USB-C ports that offer up to 90W of power delivery for laptops. It’s a 4K IPS panel with a 178-degree viewing angle and 350 nits of brightness and support for a billion colors (8-bit + FRC). It offers height, pivot, swivel and tilt adjustment, a VESA mounting interface and DisplayPort/HDMI inputs.

The best third-party option is LG’s $700 UltraFine 4 display, also sold on Apple’s Store. With a 24-inch 4K panel, you not only get very high resolution but also 500 nits of brightness (albeit, without HDR capability). It’s color-accurate out of the box, making it great for video- and photo-editing work on a Mac or MacBook. Finally, it supports Thunderbolt 3 with daisy chaining and power delivery, all of which is very useful for Mac users who may want multiple displays.

Ultrawide 21:9 monitors are a great option for some types of content creation, games (particularly driving and flight sims) and productivity work. The best model this year is LG’s 34GP950G-B, a 34-inch 3,440 x 1,440 curved monitor. The curved IPS panel supports HDR10 with 400 nits of brightness and maximum (via overclocking) 180Hz refresh rate. It’s also G-Sync and FreeSync compatible (the latter over DisplayPort only).

For the best balance of performance and price, LePow’s 15.6-inch, 1080p $200 C2S is a solid option. It offers decent brightness (220 nits), solid contrast and a very respectable 96.1-percent sRGB gamut coverage. You get a generous selection of ports (one mini-DisplayPort, one mini-HDMI port and two USB-C ports, along with a headphone jack. The metal stand is solid and practical, and it even has built-in speakers of decent quality.

ASUS still holds the prize for best luxury monitor, but it discontinued the previous mini-LED $4,000 ProArt PA32UCX monitor and replaced it with the $5,000 PA32UCG-K display. It uses the same mini-LED tech, but ups the ante with 1,600 nits of brightness via 1,152 backlight zones, an HDMI 2.1 port, 4K 120Hz resolution, 10-bit, 98 percent DCI-P3 coverage and an impressive 85 percent Rec.2020 coverage. Oh, and it’s one of the few monitors out there that supports Dolby Vision, along with HDR10 and HLG.

You’re probably doing it wrong if you’re using a $5K monitor for gaming. However, it does support AMD FreeSync (good for gaming creation) and has a 5-millisecond response time, very respectable for a display essentially designed for professional colorists. And to that end, color accuracy is calibrated to Delta E < 1 and it’s a true 10-bit panel delivering billions of colors. To verify that, it even comes with an X-rite i1 Display Pro color calibrator, normally sold separately for around $500.

There are two versions of the new MacBook Pro and we"ve got the 16-inch version, although the 14-inch model"s display is very similar just smaller and with a different resolution. Apple calls this particular display a "Liquid Retina XDR display" which is typical Apple marketing speak. If I translate this into what Apple actually means, they are giving you a high resolution full array local dimming mini-LED LCD with true HDR functionality.

If we dive deeper into the specs, the 16.2-inch panel has a resolution of 3456 x 2234 which continues Apple"s tradition of using non-standard resolutions across their line-up. Apple doesn"t disclose the exact technology used here, but it"s an LCD panel which appears to be IPS-like in design. The backlight has 10,000 mini-LEDs for impressive zone density at this size, allowing for a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 and peak brightness up to 1,600 nits in the HDR mode on paper.

As for refresh rate, Apple are offering up to 120Hz with adaptive sync, which they"ve rebranded into "ProMotion" although this sort of functionality has been available for many years now in other laptops and displays. The combination of everything though is a first, and the only rivals to this sort of panel are the latest wave of 4K OLED panels seen in a few high-end Windows laptops.

The MacBook Pro"s display is a wide gamut display with 99% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space. That"s an excellent result for any creator looking to produce content in that gamut. This also means perfect sRGB coverage, so if you"re designing web content, creating SDR videos, or working with wide gamut HDR videos then Apple is providing you the tools to do that.

Based on this you should probably just leave your MacBook in the Apple Display mode for everyday use as it"s accurate enough for sRGB content and will also let you benefit from wide gamuts where needed. The performance in the Apple Display XDR mode is similar as well for SDR content, so that"s an option if you want to also use HDR at times.

In the HDR mode, brightness is extremely impressive. There"s no major difference between sustained and peak brightness, so there"s no automatic brightness limiter that activates after a short period to dim the screen in intensely bright scenes. Brightness is as high as 1670 nits at small window sizes, and over 1500 nits at 50%, before dropping to around 1150 nits for a full screen sustained white window. That"s impressive, although it does come with a corresponding increase to power consumption, so running the display at over 1000 nits all the time isn"t advisable on battery.

Contrast behavior is also different in HDR compared to SDR. When displaying HDR content, the mini-LED backlight will, at times, fully switch off to display black, delivering an effectively infinite contrast ratio. That"s the best case performance you"ll see. In more tricky conditions, such as a checkerboard test or measuring light and dark areas close together, I measured a contrast ratio of slightly over 50,000:1. This is right where you"d want performance to be for HDR content, contrast ratios of 50,000:1 worst case and up to 1,000,000:1 or greater in other situations. Apple are meeting all the recommendations for performance that I"ve heard when speaking to HDR, calibration and mastering experts.

This performance also destroys basically any other LCD based monitor I"ve looked at before. On the standalone monitor side, it"s virtually unheard of right now to see LCD zone counts higher than a couple of thousand. This limits worse case contrast to around 12,000:1 in the case of the 2,000-zone Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 with VA technology, or just 4,000:1 in a checkerboard test.

Apple choosing to use 5-10x the zone count massively improves the achievable contrast ratio in tricky situations and I"d say this amount of zones - and the density of zones - is what is required as a minimum for the best HDR experience with an LCD panel. Even Apple"s own ridiculously overpriced Pro Display XDR doesn"t compare as it has a paltry 576-zone backlight and it was criticized at launch for poor blooming compared to professional level HDR mastering displays. The MacBook Pro"s display will be far better for producing HDR content, aside from the small size.

When actually viewing HDR content, the level of blooming is pretty minimal, even in tricky conditions like viewing Christmas lights or starfields. However it"s not completely free of blooming, and the halo-like glow effect can be visible in some conditions if you look for it.

So from one perspective it"s easily one of the best LCD-based HDR experiences I"ve seen, but on the other hand it isn"t a self-lit panel like an OLED which is completely free of blooming and in some situations OLED still delivers better HDR. Of course, OLEDs have other drawbacks such as lower brightness levels and the risk of burn in so I can understand why Apple would opt for LCD instead. Besides this one complaint though the HDR experience is excellent, especially for a laptop.

Unfortunately there is a major drawback to the Liquid Retina XDR display used on the new MacBook Pros, and that"s the motion performance. While it"s nice to see Apple upgrade the refresh rate to 120Hz compared to the 60Hz they were using previously, the display being used here doesn"t have the appropriate level of response times to keep up with that 120Hz refresh rate. The panel is actually very, very slow, which is a disappointment.

This is exacerbated by using a combination of IPS-like LCD technology, and an always-active mini-LED backlight, noting that both the LCD layer and mini-LED need to change to transition fully.

Luckily full transition fall times aren"t as horrific, though still reasonably poor at over 15ms even with our very generous 20% tolerance. The real transition time is more like 35ms, so less than half that of the rise time, but far slower than most other LCDs out there. The best laptop grade OLED panels can perform these transitions in under 2ms with the same test conditions, making them an order of magnitude faster.

I tested a few more transitions of varying degrees and typically the MacBook Pro would fall between 20 and 40ms, though luckily there is no overshoot to speak of. When viewing UFO test results, you can see the product of these horrific response times: a substantial blur trail behind moving objects. Even though the panel can feel somewhat smooth to use because it has a moderate refresh rate of 120Hz, the actual clarity in motion is terrible and this impacts the usefulness of the higher refresh rate.

Right next the MacBook Pro we have the Aero 15 OLED"s panel which has half the refresh rate at just 60Hz, but massively faster response times. You"ll see here that even though the MacBook Pro"s display is twice as fast in refresh rate, the extremely slow response behavior limits motion clarity to more like a 60Hz monitor or worse. The level of smearing is insane and I"m not sure how a modern LCD could end up this slow, Apple really should have experimented with some sort of overdrive.

The Liquid Retina XDR display has impressive HDR specifications and performance. A mini-LED backlight zone count of 10,000 is the star of the show in this respect, significantly reducing blooming compared to other LCD-based HDR monitors, and providing exceptionally high brightness. The level of performance is good enough for both enthusiast level mastering and HDR playback, so the MacBook Pro is a great device for video editing on the go when you also factor in its overall performance.

A few nitpicks aside, the major downside to the display is motion performance. This display is exceptionally slow even for an LCD, despite packing a 120Hz refresh rate. This affects areas including web browsing and any work with text as you scroll through content, and blur trails can be visible across a wide range of use cases, not just gaming. It"s not bad enough to negate the benefits you get elsewhere, but Apple needs to put a lot of work into optimizing how quickly their panels transition. I also feel the lack of HDMI 2.1 on the MacBook Pro is a bit puzzling, going HDMI 2.0 for external monitors (in addition to Thunderbolt) is a bit annoying.

The only real competition right now are OLED panels, which come with their own set of strengths and weaknesses. There are a few other mini-LED laptop options on the Windows side, like the screen you get in the Acer Predator Helios 500, but that display only has 512 zones, not the 10,000 on offer here. So it"s a battle between the MacBook and the OLEDs you see in products like the Gigabyte Aero 15 OLED.

The reasons to get an OLED display over this LCD would be in terms of its self-lit pure HDR experience with zero blooming, significantly faster response times for better motion clarity, and wider color gamut allowing for accurate work in the Adobe RGB color space as well as P3 and Rec.709. However, the drawbacks are also significant, including a 60Hz refresh rate limitation with current 4K offerings, the risk of permanent burn in, and significantly lower brightness. Actual implementations we"ve seen also lack the calibration Apple is offering.

On the balance of things, I"d prefer to get the Liquid Retina XDR in the new MacBook Pro than an OLED, especially for color-accurate content creation, and the HDR experience is close enough to OLED that I can forgive very minor blooming on occasion. I wouldn"t say Apple is miles in front with this screen, but it"s certainly very impressive and calling it the best display for production work is justified.

On a recent visit to light field display developer Looking Glass Factory (LGF), we had a chance to see their new glasses-free 3D displays holographic monitors. This lineup includes the new 7.9” Portrait Display and Generation 2 versions of the 15.6” 4K model and the 32” 8K monitor. After a 2-year hiatus in showing their products, the company was pleased to start showing off these new displays.

These displays use a sophisticated light steering lens to blend dozens of views only in the horizontal direction. This lack of vertical parallax is perfectly adequate for a wide range of use cases and creates some compelling images. The lens array always reduces the native resolution of the underlying display panel. You can see some modest structure in the images presented on our visit – even on the 8K display holographic monitors. But this is negated by the fidelity of the overall 3D image.

The 4K monitor is aimed at professionals in 3D design activities like games, graphics, VFX, architecture, advertising, volumetric capture and more. For many, it is a secondary monitor that allows the artist to see their design in a realistic 3D way rather than the rendered images they get on 2D monitors. It is priced at $3,000 and has an apparent resolution of perhaps 1080p.

Stepping up to 8K is a big jump in price – $20K but on sale now for $17.5K. But this size also makes a big difference in the impression it creates. Apparent resolution is probably on the order of 4K. This resolution has appeal in professional design applications and retail and signage applications.

This display is based on LCD technology and is a 10-bit panel, so it can potentially support HDR mage display, although LGF does not market it as having this capability. There may be a need for an HDR version in professional design markets, but its value at retail may be less.